2025:UHC:7293 SL. No. Date Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar’s order with Signatures COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS C482 No.1116 of 2016 Hon’ble Alok Mahra, J. Mr. Piyush Garg, Advocate for the applicant. Mr. Deepak Bisht, Deputy Advocate General for the State of Uttarakhand. Mr. Maneesh Bisht, Advocate, holding brief of Mr. Vipul Sharma, Advocate for respondent no.2. 2. According to the applicant, it is a proprietor firm named as M/s Mahaveer Packaging Industries, situate at A-7 Industrial Estate Bazpur Road Kashipur District Udham Singh Nagar; that the applicant is a manufacturer of packaging material in the name and style of said firm at the above noted address; that the aforesaid unit of the applicant is situated in a "Notified Industrial Area" and is under the control of District Industries Centre; that the plot of land (A-7 situated at Industrial Estate Kashipur) over which the industry is situated was leased out by the General Manager District Industries Centre on behalf of Hon’ble Governor of UP State in favour of Sri Tilak Raj Rawal and Sri Satpal Bhakoo for establishing an industry over the said plot; that the then successors and assignee of the said lessees with the permission of General Manager District Industry Centre vide order no. 4238-42 dated 19-03-1999 transferred and leased out the said plot of land situated at A-7 Industrial Estate, Kashipur measuring 2422 sq yards in favour of Sri Pushpendra Kumar Jain vide transfer agreement dated 19-4-1999; that out of the total area of 21800 sq ft. so transferred and allotted to Sri Pushpendra Kumar Jain in plot No. A-7 Industrial Area, an area measuring 7000 sq ft was further leased out by Sri Pushpendra Kumar Jain to the applicant 2025:UHC:7293 after obtaining a permission from the District Industries Centre vide permission dated 15-10-2008; that the applicant’s industry is registered with the District Industries Centre as a manufacturer of corrugated boxes and flexible packaging material; that the applicant took an annual license under the provisions of Zila Panchayat Act in respect of the establishment of the industry at the said address, however did not get the same being renewed afterwards; that the respondent no. 2 filed a criminal complaint case against the applicant in the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Udham Singh Nagar with the allegations that the applicant has run its industry for the year 2012-13 without obtaining the CPT (Circumstance and Property Tax); that the learned Magistrate summoned the applicant vide order dated 19-02-2016. Thus, feeling aggrieved, applicant has filed this criminal misc. application. 3. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant took an annual license under the provisions of Zila Panchayat Act in respect of the establishment of the industry at the said address, however did not get the same being renewed afterwards, as there is no necessity obtaining a license from the respondent no. 2 for the reason of the applicant industry being situated in an industrial area and the Zila Panchayat authorities have no jurisdiction to grant license or to levy or collect any license fee or tax in an industrial area; that the Zila Panchayat authorities in that respect wrongly relied upon their bye-laws dated 06-12-2005 notified on 24-12-2005 and bye-laws dated 06-09-2006 notified on 09- 09-2006; that the respondent no. 2 without any authority and without there being any provision under the Zila Panchayat Act for filing a criminal complaint, filed a criminal complaint case against the applicant in the 2025:UHC:7293 court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Udham Singh Nagar purporting to be under Section 240 of the Zila Panchayat Act; that the learned Magistrate in a mechanical manner without applying its judicial mind summoned the applicant on such complaint in a Criminal Case no. 989 of 2016 Zila Panchayat Udham Singh Nagar Vs M/s Mahaveer Packaging Industries under Section 240 of the Zila Panchayat Act, 1961; that the respondent no. 2 without any jurisdiction over an industrial area forces the industries situated within industrial area to obtain a license from them; that an issue to that effect came to be considered by Coordinate Bench of this Court in Writ Petition no. 801 of 2009 (M/S), Writ Petition No. 636(M/S) of 2014, Writ Petition No. 342 (M/S) of 2012 and Writ Petition No. 461(M/S) of 2012, wherein the Court held that the Zila Panchayat is entitled to grant a license or a permission only in respect of Rural Area and not for Urban/ Notified area. 4. Per contra, learned counsel for respondent no.2 submits that license fee have already been demanded from the applicant, failing to deposit the same, the complaint came to be registered against the applicant. 5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. The Zila Panchayat have jurisdiction to levy license fee in respect of area under its jurisdiction, which is outside the area earmarked as industrial area. This controversy has already been decided by Coordinate Bench of this Court in WPMS No.636 of 2014 and connected cases, decided on 28.03.2014, wherein the Court held that Zila Panchayat has absolutely no authority under the law to impose, levy or collect tax from any industry or person within the area of municipality, town area, notified area or SIDCUL area and proceeded to hold that the impugned notice, asking the petitioner to pay tax, do not sustain in the 2025:UHC:7293 eyes of law and quashed the impugned notices. 6. Since the controversy has already been laid to rest by Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in the aforesaid case, this Court has no hesitation in quashing the entire proceedings of the criminal case registered against the applicant. 7. Accordingly, the criminal misc. application is allowed and the entire proceedings of Criminal Case No. 989 of 2016, pending in the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Udham Singh Nagar are hereby quashed. (Alok Mahra, J.) 18.08.2025 Arpan ARPAN JAISWAL Digitally signed by ARPAN JAISWAL DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=eabb68a3895e41937c266c23964c0485365 445e3a20dddb7393398f9fe45ba3e, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=060FC17022BEAE3DE215D68D9D454 C5109CB987446351E4DF04AADAA2C2CEA66, cn=ARPAN JAISWAL Date: 2025.08.19 15:45:04 +05'30'